Throughout the season, the St. Louis Blues prospect report will work to keep fans up to date on the latest happenings with prospects from around the globe. These will be published weekly reviewing each area of the world’s hockey hotbeds. The 2023-24 European prospect report will primarily cover players in Russia, Sweden, and Finland.
Let’s take a look at some of the Blues players who have already kicked off their regular seasons.
Nikita Susuyev (Left Wing/Right Wing)
St. Louis’ seventh-round draft pick of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, the Russian prospect, Nikita Susuyev has split time between the top Russian hockey league, the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), and the top Russian junior league, the Molodyozhnaya Hokkeinaya Liga (MHL) this season. Appearing in nine games with the Spartak Moskva of the KHL, he has registered one assist while averaging only 4:31 of time on ice. However, Susuyev has flexed his offensive abilities in the MHL scoring two goals and five points in four games while averaging just over 20 minutes of time on ice per game.
Arseni Koromyslov (Defenseman)
The 19-year-old defenseman, Arseni Koromyslov has been up and down the different leagues for SKA St. Petersburg this season appearing in one game in the KHL, four in the Vysshaya Hokkeinaya Liga (VHL), and three in the MHL, he has amassed two goals and six points through eight games, all points coming in the MHL. For the second season in a row, he is seeing games at all three levels of the Russian leagues. What’s more impressive is that Koromyslov appeared in 29 games in the KHL as a 19-year-old, which is an impressive accomplishment for himself.
Jakub Stancl (Left Wing)
Another member of the 2023 NHL Draft class, Stancl is a hulking forward at 6-foot-3 and already over 200 pounds playing this season with the Växjö Lakers HC of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) and Växjö Lakers HC J20 in the J20 Nationell, the highest junior hockey league in Sweden. To date, he has scored two points (one goal, one assist) through five games at the J20 Nationell level.
His team continues to struggle early on this season with a 2-4 record with a minus-six goal differential. He is not a player who has popped off the scoresheet at this point in his career but is known for a strong two-way game and is a trustworthy player on the penalty kill.
Dalibor Dvorský (Center)
One of the more surprising stat lines among the group of European prospects comes from the Blues’ 10th overall draft choice, Dalibor Dvorsky. As of this writing, the forward is pointless through four games while his team (IK Oskarshamn of the SHL) is in last place. Dvorsky has been primarily used on the club’s third-line playing center throughout all but one game where he was placed as the third-line left wing earlier this year.
Blues fans should have little to worry about at this point with Dvorsky as he is only four games into the season with plenty of games left to go. It is important to note that this is the first season that Dvorsky is playing in Sweden’s top league after playing in the J18 and J20 leagues last season, as well as the HockeyAllsvenskan, Sweden’s second-highest league in professional hockey.
Odds & Ends
With the various leagues in Europe inching closer or having just begun their season, multiple Blues prospects have little to show with less than five games under their belts. Here’s a look at a few of the other European prospects that will be monitored this season:
- Ivan Vorobyov (F) – AKM Tula Region (KHL) – 2 GP – 1 goal
- Theo Lindstein (D) – Brynäs IF (HockeyAllsvenskan) – 2 GP – 1 assist
- Aleksanteri Kaskimäki (LW/C) – HIFK (Liiga) – 3 GP – 0 points
- Simon Robertsson (RW) – Akelleftea AIK (SHL) – 2 GP – 0 points
- Otto Stenberg – (LW) – Frölunda HC (SHL) – 1 GP – 0 points
RELATED: Blues Top 10 Prospects for 2023-24
The Blues’ prospect pool is slowly beginning to stock up on its European prospects and has done an excellent job finding prospects that can serve in multiple areas of the professional game. The current state of the club’s roster and depth chart will allow these players time to continue to grow and mold their game before turning their eye to North America.
